CLIFTON FORGE—Special Theatrical Artists Revue and Showcase (STARS) will open its 28th performance season by presenting a variety show dedicated to the memory of the late Todd Bates, a member of STARS.
Paula Crance and Sonya Romanello are returning as the co-directors, and Chris Fischer is returning as the emcee for the show that will be held on stage at Good News Church on Main in Covington on April 21, at 3:00 p.m. There are no advance ticket sales, and tickets at the door are $6. Anyone who cannot afford the ticket price may enter via a donation of any amount.
Crance said, “We have three new singers who will be performing and 25 singers in the show.”
STARS is a performing arts outreach of Appalfolks of America Association (AAA), and each member of the troupe either faces an intellectual challenge or has a physical disability.
M. Ray Allen, president of AAA, remarked, “The Special Olympics operates the concession stand at STARS’ variety shows, and many people have confused STARS as being part of that nonprofit group.”
He continued, “Lovelle Campbell of Clifton Forge approached me about starting an opry for those who are disabled or face intellectual challenges, and AAA’s Board of Directors approved the plan that I named and presented in 1996.”
STARS has grown from the original 10 members who performed on stage at the Historic Stonewall Theatre in 1996 as an AAA outreach program to having more than 30 members.
Allen concluded, “The late Vivian Pendleton was our first director of STARS, and Paula and Sonya have led the way as volunteers who have a free hand at deciding the theme for each show, conducting rehearsals for the shows, and directing the shows that originally were held at The Historic Stonewall Theatre until AAA donated the theatre to the Town of Clifton Forge in 2003 and performances there became unaffordable eventually.”
AAA produced a documentary film in 2006, titled STARS, and the film won a Bronze Telly. It can be viewed at the Clifton Forge Public Library.
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